Never Reborn or Unfinished Business
by HashtagMC
Summary: The death of Perseus Jackson had hit both camps with full strength. The twice saviour of Olympus had died at age twenty-three, fighting a larger-than-normal group of monsters while protecting his friends. All of them had escaped, but the son of Poseidon hadn't made it out of the monsters' hideout alive. What was the reason why he was now heading for Elysium...
1. I – Percy

**A/N:** My first attempt in Luke/Percy. I stumbled across this pairing a few hours ago, and after reading a few stories, this story began to form inside my head. I know that there is at least one story who covers the same subject (Luke/Percy/Elysium), but I have _not_ read it yet. I swear that I did not – and do not intend to – copy someone's story.

I have a plan how this story is gonna end, probably only one or two more chapters.

Tell me how you find this story? Is it total crap? Don't hesitate to tell me, but also tell me what I can improve. Whenever I write the first story for a new pairing, I'm more worried than usual whether I write utter shit or not.

Main Pairings: Percy/Luke

Side Pairings: None

Warnings: Character death (mentioned)

 **Disclaimer: _Percy Jackson and the Olympians_ and _Heroes of Olympus_ are the intellectual property of Rick Riordan. I own nothing but the plot.**

* * *

Never Reborn or Unfinished Business

'Move on, Wise Girl. Promise me.'

The death of Perseus Jackson had hit both camps with full strength. The twice saviour of Olympus had died at age twenty-three, fighting a larger-than-normal group of monsters while protecting his friends. All of them had escaped, but the son of Poseidon hadn't made it out of the monsters' hideout alive. What was the reason why he was now – the judgement of his life had been a mere formality – heading for Elysium…

* * *

The boat that brought me to Elysium was the fanciest one I'd ever been on so far, but it reminded me a bit too much of the _Princess Andromeda_. I sighed. A lot of bad memories were connected with the white yacht that used to belong to Luke. As far as I knew, the wreck of the ship had never been risen. The leftovers of it still lay at the bottom of the sea off Manhattan. I wondered how Luke was doing now, in his reborn life, as the boat approached the landing stage. Giving the river behind me – I didn't know which one it was – a last glance, I walked towards the archway in the hedge that surrounded the only happy part of the Underworld. Unlike a gated community in the mortal world, I didn't need to identify myself or something, the gate just opened itself for me. What can I say. I'd always been a city boy, but this place was paradise. _Literally._

' _Percy!'_ Before I knew what was happening, two arms wrapped themselves around me. At first, my battle reflexes snapped in and I reached for my nonexistent sword, but then I realised that nothing here could harm me. Freeing myself from whoever-the-arms-belonged-to's embrace, I turned around to face my attacker.

'Silena!' I hadn't seen the daughter of Aphrodite in seven years. Behind her, a broad smile on his lips, stood her boyfriend (assuming that they hadn't married or something – was that even possible if you were dead?), Charles Beckendorf. As soon as his girlfriend let go of me, he reached out and shook my hand. I must, to my shame, admit that I began stammering apologies – I still blamed myself for his death – but he cut me off, and after the umpteenth assurance that he didn't hold it against me, I began to believe him.

The next hours were filled with a lot of reunions, hugs, tears, and whatnot. All the people who had died when I had led them to defend Mount Olympus, all the people who had trusted me and whom I had led to their deaths, all the people who had died defending Camp Half-Blood against Gaea's minions… I apologised a lot that day. But most of them were like Beckendorf, assuring me that it wasn't my fault and that they didn't blame me. And even though I had left many friends behind when I'd died, I would have never thought that it would be such a relief to face these people. I had always imagined I would sort of be the outcast among all the dead heroes, because I _wasn't a hero_ , no matter how many people kept assuring me that I was a hero. The thought of those who lived while I was dead stung, and I felt guilty for causing them sorrow.

'Percy?' I could have demanded a house, and I could do so at any time, but I hadn't wanted to settle down before I had come to terms with the whole being-dead-thing. Which was why I was staying at Silena's and Beckendorf's place at the moment, and it was Beckendorf who poked his head into 'my' room at the moment.

'There's someone else you'd like to see.' I wondered who it might be – if my memory served me correctly, I had met everybody whose death I had blamed on me, and yes, I knew every single name by heart – but if Beckendorf thought I would like to meet them, whoever they were…

'Sure. I'm coming.' Beckendorf stepped aside to let me out of the room. 'He's waiting at the creek, right around the corner and hundred metres down the street.' I nodded and followed his instructions. Yet, when I arrived at the spot he'd described, nobody was to be seen. Did dead people like to prank newcomers?

'Percy.'

I spun around at the sound of a familiar voice. Behind me, leaning against a tree, stood a young man, blonde hair, blue eyes. He was twenty-three years old, and a long scar graced his cheek. He wore an orange Camp Half-Blood shirt, jeans and combat boots. His arms and chest were as muscular as ever, and his hands were shoved into his pockets.

The sight stunned me. He was _dead_. Or rather, he should _not_ be dead, but instead reborn.

'Luke' I choked out. 'How… you said you'd choose rebirth… how come you're… why?' I felt my knees buckle beneath me. He was the last person I'd expected to meet here. During the past seven years, I had been sure that he was somewhere out there, in the mortal world, reborn. The fact that he stood _right here_ , in front of me, was overwhelming. The 'I'm gonna faint' kind of overwhelming. But before my face could make contact with the ground, Luke leapt forward and caught me.

'Sshh, Percy.' Luke's strong arms prevented me from falling, but once on my feet, I freed myself from his grip and pointed my index finger at him accusingly.

'YOU CAN'T BE HERE! YOU SAID YOU WOULD BE REBORN! WHY DID YOU LIE?' Tears streamed down my face as I kept yelling at him. I called him a liar, accused him of betraying my trust when he stayed dead instead of doing as he told, and whatnot. And though I'd denied it to myself for ten years, I knew exactly why I was so upset.

'Percy,' it was obvious that Luke himself, the strongest person I'd ever known, was close to tears himself, 'do you really hate me that much?' Scratch that, Luke _was_ crying. 'I thought – I thought we'd made up, before… I died.' I stopped my yelling. No, I didn't hate Luke. Not at all.

The truth was: Since I had first met him, I had kind of developed a crush on him. He had been the nicest person I'd met at Camp Half-Blood, and he had been sort of a hero to me. He didn't even have to do anything heroic for that. And his betrayal had hurt the more because of that. I had not only harboured, but even intensified those feelings during the war, despite all the times Luke tried to kill me. And when he finally _did_ something heroic, sacrificing himself to stop Kronos, he was even more of a hero than before.

But I had always refused to admit these feelings to myself, let alone to anyone else. I had crushed on him for ten years of my life, secretly. And now that Luke turned out to be here, _alive_ if you wanted to call it alive, as alive as I was anyway, all the feelings that I had bottled up appeared again, getting my hopes up.

'No' I croaked out. 'I – I don't hate you, Luke.' Now the tears were streaming for another reason. I wrapped my arms around the son of Hermes, earning me a surprised yelp from him before he hugged me back. 'I'm sorry' I mumbled. Even though we were now the same age – Luke had died at age twenty-three, and so had I – Luke was still taller than me. Which meant that I could bury my face in his chest as I had always wanted. Not that it meant anything, Luke's last words before his death were proof enough. He'd asked Annabeth if she'd loved him, if that didn't prove that he wasn't even into guys, let alone me…

Luke ruffled my hair. 'It's okay, Percy. And… I didn't lie to you. I made the decision to stay dead spontaneous. In fact, I made it when I was about to claim rebirth.' He held me at arm's length and smiled ruefully. 'I had unfinished business. And I'm still taking on too much.' He did his best to smile. 'Now, tell me, Percy. How have you been?'

It was my first time at camp all over again. We would sit down and talk, but this time, about the events after his death instead of my mother and Smelly Gabe. I told him almost everything, about the second Giant War, about Gaea. About Annabeth and our breakup, and how much it broke my heart that she still loved me while I had to admit that I had never completely loved her. Of course, I didn't mention that that was because the better part of my heart was reserved for a stupid crush – said crush sat next to me. And against all odds, Luke didn't yell at me or something for breaking Annabeth's heart.

'I must say, Percy, I'm disappointed of you. I wouldn't have thought you'd get yourself killed by a bunch of minor monsters' Luke joked. And even though he was kidding, he hit a nerve. I had been disappointed of myself since I died.

'Percy… you _do_ know that I was joking, right?'

'I know' I muttered. 'But you're right. I've failed my friends. Each one of them. I've left them behind.' A sob escaped my mouth. 'I left them down' I cried and hugged my knees to my chest.

'You didn't' Luke protested. 'You saved them' he continued more calm. 'You saved their lives, and you've died as a hero. You did _not_ fail them.' He wrapped his arms around me once again, holding me until I stopped crying. Strange. When we had been alive, we had never been that close. Well, we had only known each other for a few days before I disappeared for a quest, and afterwards, he had tried to kill me, but I was still surprised that we were suddenly on hugging terms.

He hadn't much to tell me. According to him, he had spent the past seven years waiting for someone to appear – said unfinished business – and the thought that there was someone so _special_ to Luke that he'd wait seven goddamn years for him made me angry. Outright jealous. Judging by Luke's last words, he was probably waiting for Annabeth. She had already told him that she didn't love him, so why couldn't he give up on her? I wanted him to notice me so badly – not that he didn't notice me, but I mean _notice_ me.

When we parted, I felt strangely reluctant to let go of Luke's hand.

Scratch the 'strangely'. It wasn't strange at all.

Because I was head over heels in love with Luke Castellan.


	2. II – Luke

**A/N:** Thanks for all the positive feedback! I'm relieved every time I write for a new pairing and get so many positive reviews!

This chapter is from Luke's POV. I hope I managed to convey his view of the world as good as Percy's. Percy insists that he isn't a hero and that everything is his fault even if it isn't, but Luke _knows_ that everything is his fault, so he's feeling even more down than Percy, and with good reason. That was what I had in mind while writing this chapter.

So, enjoy reading, and keep reviewing! You are the best audience I could ask for!

 **Disclaimer: _Percy Jackson and the Olympians_ and _Heroes of Olympus_ are the intellectual property of Rick Riordan. I own nothing but the plot.**

* * *

I knew how rue and regret felt. I, of all people, should know how it felt. I had felt more regret and shame than I had ever thought was possible after my death. I had cried on my way to the Underworld, but unlike most of the dead, I hadn't cried because I wanted to come back to life. I had cried because I had wished I would have never lived.

People who I had once considered my friends had died because of me, the blood of most of my former fellow campers covered my hands. I had nearly killed the two people who had been my family for years, and I had nearly killed an innocent, twelve years old boy who had got dragged into the whole Olympic business. I had been close to destroying the whole world, approximately eight billion humans, for the sake of revenge.

So, all in all, I knew how regret felt. Or so I thought.

I had learned to deal with my feelings over the course of the past seven years, with the help of people who were supposed to hate me. Charles Beckendorf and Silena Beauregard should _spit_ on me, and I wasn't even worthy of _that._ But they didn't. I had fallen to my knees and begged people for their forgiveness, something I would have never done while I was alive. And most people had forgiven me. Hatred was of no use if you were dead. But now the regret came back.

The decision to stay in Elysium had been due to two reasons. One: I mustn't be allowed to _ever_ walk the world again. What if I'd be reborn and start a war all over again? I couldn't risk that. Two: I had hoped that, one day, I would be reunited with the person about whom I cared the most. And I had not been thinking of Annabeth Chase or Thalia Grace.

I had been thinking of Perseus Jackson.

One of the numerous decisions that I regretted was to have come to Annabeth. I should have gone to Percy and ask _him_ to run away with me. Maybe, only maybe he would have given in to my pleas. We could have hid from Kronos, and lived happily ever after.

Because I was in love with Percy Jackson.

Hurting him, on several occasions, had been the most painful thing I'd ever done. Emotionally painful. The things Kronos would have done to me if I'd defied him would have been way more painful _physically_. When I had betrayed Percy's trust for the first time, after his successful quest, I didn't have the heart to kill him myself. I had, coward I was, left the job to a monster and walked away, had run as soon as I was out of sight, and hoped he hadn't seen the tears in my eyes.

But against all odds, he had survived, escaped Kronos again and again. He had grown sixteen, and he had managed to stop Kronos, stop _me_. And every god shall be my witness when I say that I wished surrendering would have been enough. It would have meant that I would have survived, and maybe eventually gotten the chance to be with him.

But I had to die. That's the world for you: The villain dies, and the hero gets the girl. In this case, it meant that I had to see the love in Annabeth's eyes before I died, the love that burnt for Percy.

But seven years of waiting had paid off. Percy had _not_ chosen rebirth. He had returned to me, or that was what I liked to tell myself. And the fact that he had never loved Annabeth had made me celebrate inwardly. I knew that I was unfair against Annabeth, my may-as-well-be-little-sister, but I couldn't do anything against it.

I had, like Percy, never claimed a house during the past seven years. I slept in a tent, like I had several times during the war. I loved to hear the rain hit the outside of the tent. It helped me think, and if I focused on the sound, it helped me forget everything else and fall asleep.

During the past weeks, we had made a habit of hanging out together, sitting next to each other, silent. I wouldn't be able to say what _he_ liked about it. I simply enjoyed sitting close to him and enjoyed his presence. He'd probably freak out if he'd know that. I didn't assume that he had a problem with guys liking guys, but I had seen enough boys who avoided girls who had confessed to them if they didn't like them back. Why would Percy be different?

I couldn't do anything but marvel at his sight. When we had first met, he had been simply _cute_. At first, when I had met him in the Hermes cabin at Camp Half-Blood, I had simply felt protective, like he was my little brother. No sign of romantic interest, I had seen a confused little kid who had just lost his mother and didn't know anybody in this confusing, new world. It had been only natural to try to befriend him. At this time, I hadn't known that he was the one I would have to betray.

But during the four years of war, during the several times we'd met… I had to admit that he had become a strong young man, a brave hero. Besides the fact that we were on different sides, I admired him, even though I was used to _being the one_ who was admired. But he was good, a better swordsman than I could have taught him, and he was _handsome_. I could fully understand why Annabeth was so infatuated with him. But my heart still stung with jealousy whenever she looked at him all lovestruck. And I had died, knowing that they'd inevitably become a couple.

After he had told me about the seven years I'd missed, I admired him even more. Turning down the gift of immortality, making sure the gods wouldn't neglect their children again… I was feeling like falling on my knees and begging him for an autograph. He had fought another war and fought his way through Tartarus… my more-than-a-crush mixed with admiration and intensified. The fact that we were often hugging and stuff, when he was feeling guilty or depressed again, didn't help, and neither did the fact that the age difference of seven years was gone.

'One thing I wanted to ask you for a long time… Why did you ask Annabeth if she loved you?'

We were sitting at our usual spot at the creek, a few hundred metres away from my tent. The question really caught me off-guard. The answer had two parts, but I couldn't really him the whole truth, so I settled for a half-hearted answer. And I can tell you, it hurt to lie to him again.

'I had to know. I didn't want to die without knowing whether I would leave her broken-hearted. The way she used to look up to me… I had never been sure if she didn't see me as more than a big brother. I would have hated to learn that she loved me, seconds before my death, but I had to know.'

I didn't understand the bitterness in Percy's voice when he answered. 'What if you wouldn't have been about to die? What if she would have confessed her love to you, even after all you'd done?'

I shook my head. 'There wouldn't have been a happily-ever-after for us, Percy. I never saw her as more than a sister. The same goes for Thalia. They are my family, but not more. I was glad to hear that we were on the same page.' I didn't tell him that I had partially wished that Annabeth would have loved me, because that would have meant that she didn't love Percy. And right now, I wished I would understand why Percy looked to relieved. I couldn't imagine why he would be happy that I didn't love Annabeth. The subject didn't have anything to do with him, did it? But I didn't pry.

The weeks passed by and became months, and Percy had still not demanded a house. He was by now as well sleeping in a tent, maybe fifty metres away, and the close proximity didn't exactly make it easy to ignore my feelings. The reason why I had never claimed a house – every dead soul who lived in Elysium had the right to get a house or a flat if they wanted – was that I had, ever since I got here, imagined to move in with Percy. I knew full-well that it was a stupid dream, but that didn't keep me from dreaming it. I had no idea whether our tastes in furniture would mix, or if we would – on condition that we'd get together – work out as a couple, but I kept dreaming of the two of us living together.

There was no such thing as _birthday_ in the Underworld, what made me rather sad. Sure, there was spring, summer, fall and winter, but there was no such thing as a calendar that would allow you to determine the date. I would have loved to celebrate Percy's birthday with him. But as it was, I had to settle for celebrating the one-year-anniversary of his arrival with him. I hoped he would understand what I meant and not get it wrong. I meant it as a 'you are here, with me and your friends, for one year'-party, and not as a 'you've died a year ago'-party.

'Percy… do you know what day it is today?' As to be expected, Percy shook his head.

'It's been one year since you've come here and we've met again, and I thought… maybe that was a reason to celebrate.' An expression that could only be described as _bittersweet_ flashed across Percy's face, and I was sure that I had screwed everything up, but Percy smiled the slightest bit and obediently closed his eyes when I led him to a place at the creek.

'Here we are' I said, and Percy opened his eyes. I had prepared a picnic basket, a cake (I was quite proud of it. I had never tried baking something before, but with a little help from Silena, I had managed to produce a formidable cake) and a blanket placed at the ground. I had considered getting candles, but I had decided that it would look too much like a date. Percy cracked a weak smile. 'So, what is this? A one-year-reunion-party?' I nodded. 'Pretty much.'


	3. III – Percy

**A/N:** I decided that it's Beckendorf's turn to give love advise. Usually, Piper or Silena are the ones to help couples get together, but not this time.

And, of course, you get more _Percy low self-esteem Jackson_.

 **Disclaimer: _Percy Jackson and the Omypians_ and _Heroes of Olympus_ are the intellectual property of Rick Riordan. I own nothing but the plot.**

* * *

I was in the mood to cry. Who would have thought that I would come to paradise and suffer more than I had during my mortal life? What an irony. I really felt like punching The Fates square in the face right now.

Luke asking me to come with him for a party sounded an awful lot like a date, and it hurt, because I knew for sure that this wasn't a date. The phrase 'since we've met again' could also be misinterpreted romantic-wise too easy, and all that resulted in my heart working overtime to pound its way out of my chest. I felt grateful that Luke had counted the days I'd spent here, and I found it sweet that he thought that was worth a party, but the whole thing looked to much like a date to make me feel comfortable.

'Did I do something wrong, Percy?' Luke didn't fail to notice my mood. I shook my head. 'No, it's really sweet of you, but… it's my fault. Sorry for ruining your surprise. I'm sure you put a lot of work into this.' Luke didn't seem to care about the amount of work he'd put into this, because he scooted closer and put his arm around my shoulder. 'What's wrong, Percy? You can trust me, whatever it is. I promise.' I wanted to laugh drily, but the laughter died down in my throat to make place for other words.

'I'm in love, Luke.'

Luke visibly flinched, for whatever reason, but he tried not to let it show. 'Who is she?' he asked. 'Who is he' I corrected, and Luke frowned. 'Is that what's bothering you? That you fell in love with a guy?' He didn't move one inch and didn't move his arm either, unlike I had expected. 'You know, there's nothing wrong with liking someone of the same gender—' I interrupted him. 'I know. He won't ever like me back, that's the problem. He probably isn't even into guys.'

'Who is he?' Luke asked. 'Do I know him?' But I shook my head. 'Sorry, Luke. I – I can't tell you.'

Now the hurt and angry look on Luke's face was obvious. 'Fine.' His voice was filled with venom. Wordlessly, he stood up and left, leaving me too stunned to run after him. When I had recovered from the shock that I had just scared my best friend and secret crush away, he was already out of sight.

The tears that I had been holding back until now finally fought their way into my eyes. The Fates really had to hate me. Burden me with a life full with death and war, having to act like an adult before I was even in high school, having someone loving me whom I didn't love, and even after my death scaring the one whom I _did_ love away. What was I supposed to do? If I told him that I was in love with him he would have run away. Now I didn't tell him and he ran away as well. Another person whose friendship with me I had fucked up. It was a long list. Annabeth, after our breakup, Nico, after his confession to me, Calypso, after my departure from Ogygia… I could continue this forever. So many people I had disappointed… even in death I kept screwing things up.

After a while, it began to rain, the weather mirroring my emotions. Freshwater mixed with salt water as raindrops and tears fell to the ground.

'Percy?' Someone else sat down next to me. Beckendorf. 'Percy, I saw Luke running away, crying… did something happen between you two?'

'I told him that I fell in love with someone. He—he asked who it was, but – I can't tell him.'

'You love him, don't you? Luke, I mean.' Beckendorf's words startled me, jolting me out of my thoughts. How would he possibly know? I had never told anyone, and I was pretty sure that I had not let it show in any way. So how—?

'Hey, being with a daughter of Aphrodite rubs off on people' Beckendorf grinned. 'There are lots of people here who were at least acquaintances of yours, yet you only hang out with Luke. You've been friends for, like, less than a week before you became worst enemies, but you're treating him like you'd been best friends for years.' He smiled. 'At camp, whenever the subject of Luke came up, you acted almost as agitated as Thalia or Annabeth, and _they_ had known him for _years_. But you didn't seem to _hate_ him, more regret his betrayal.' He smirked. 'And, of course, Silena knew it from the day you met him again.'

Stupid daughters of even more stupid love goddesses. I remembered my encounter with Aphrodite on the quest for Artemis. The fate of the world had been on the line, we had been on the verge of a full-scale war, but the so-called love goddess had only cared about the 'tragic love story' – as _she_ had phrased it. Now, this was going to be Tragic Love Story IV – after me and Annabeth, after Nico's unrequited crush on me, after my disappearance for eight months and Annabeth's quest for me.

'It's not as if he could ever feel the same way' I spat at Beckendorf. It wasn't fair to take my anger out on him, I knew. Sue me. 'He's waiting for someone else anyway, so why do we even talk about this? He ran away because he's hurt that I don't trust him, or whatever is going through his mind. What should I do, go to him and say, "hey, I know you're mad at me, but I happen to be in fucking love with you", or what ever you thought I would say?' Every other person I knew would have lost their patience with me already, so why was Beckendorf still here?

'Percy, I'm not blind. I see the looks he's giving you. He said he's waiting for someone special, right? Did it never occur to you that _you_ might be someone special? You haven't seen the tears in his eyes when he confessed how he had to kill you after you returned the Master Bolt. You haven't seen his trembling hands when he painted his last moments in the Olympic throne room. You haven't seen how his eyes lit up when the message of your arrival went around. But I have seen all this.' Beckendorf made a pause. 'When he came here, he was crushed. He was literally _begging_ for our forgiveness. He thought he was the most unworthy person to be here.' He took my hand and forced me to look into his eyes with the other hand. 'Luke thinks he's not worthy of your friendship, let alone your love, Percy. So, as you phrased it earlier, go to him and tell him that you're in love with him.'

'Silena _really_ rubs off on you' I commented drily, and the son of Hephaestus sighed. 'That's all you caught?' I snorted. 'Of course not. But you must be talking about someone else. I'm far from special. I've led hundreds of people to their deaths, Charles.' The blacksmith flinched at his first name. 'I'm no hero. People have died for me, and what did they get for it? Another war, more casualties. When they needed me, I was thousands of miles away in Greece. When my friends fought Clytius, I lay unconscious and unable to help them.' I shook my head. 'I'm the worst loser Camp Half-Blood has ever seen. My entire task in saving the world from Kronos consisted of handing Luke a knife. _Everyone_ could have done that.'

Beckendorf sighed and rested his head in his hands. 'Perseus Jackson, you have the lowest self-esteem I have _ever_ seen. You're worse than _anybody_ I have ever met.' Duh, man, that was what I had tried to tell him with this monologue. 'Promise me you're going to set things right with Luke. I'm not telling you you should confess to him – well, basically, I _am_ – but at least apologise to him. Explain to him that you don't have the courage to tell him who it is, and that it's not because you don't trust him.'

I shook my head. There was no way I could explain this to Luke without confessing my feelings to him. Though, things couldn't get worse by now. He was already mad at me, I might as well add another reason why he was angry with me.

'If this goes wrong, it's _so_ your fault.' Beckendorf smiled. 'Fine.'

'Alright Percy. Let the cake cool down ten minutes and it's edible.' Silena furrowed her eyebrows. 'You're still not telling me what you need this for?' I shook my head. Confessing my crush on Luke was way harder than getting told that it was obvious.

'He's going to make up with Luke' Beckendorf piped up. 'And hopefully ask him out' he added. I frowned. 'Silena, would you tell your boyfriend to stop selling me out?' Seriously, why had he have to do this? My face was probably the same colour as the strawberry cake I was cautiously removing from the oven right now. Silena's help had been worth a mint. The cake was as close to perfect as I, with my nonexistent skills in baking, could make it.

Carefully, I made my way to Luke's tent, anxious not to accidentally drop the cake. I hadn't talked to Luke in a week – and yes, it had taken me seven days to think of a way to make up with him. Eventually, I had settled for virtually 'turning back the clock' and re-arrange the party he had prepared for me. Which was why I was now standing in front of the tent with a cake in my arms.

'Luke? Are you in there?' As far as I knew, Luke hadn't left his tent during the past week, for all I knew, he might be the-gods-know-where. But he poked his head out of the tent, hair messy and eyes bloodshot. If his surprised expression was anything to go by, he had not expected to see me. His eyes widened as his gaze flickered over the cake before it returned to my face.

'Luke… I'm sorry. I trust you. I didn't mean to offend you. And… I'm here to make up for it. Maybe – maybe we can retry the whole party-thing?'

Luke nodded wordlessly, gesturing for me to come inside. The tent was big, it could have easily provided space for ten people. I placed the cake at the cake inside before I sat down diagonally across from Luke, who still remained silent.

'Luke, please say something.' I didn't intend to sound so pleading.

'I'm sorry, Percy.' From all the things I had expected he'd say, I had never expected him to apologise. _I_ had screwed up, why was _he_ apologizing? 'I've overreacted. I shouldn't have get so agitated or run away from you.' He smiled ruefully. 'It's really sweet that you baked a cake, do you know that?'


	4. IV – Luke

**A/N:** Sorry for the long absence. This is the second to last chapter – right now, I am trying to improve the last chapter, since I'm not really satisfied with it yet.

 **Disclaimer: _Percy Jackson and the Olympians_ and _Heroes of Olympus_ are the property of Rick Riordan. I own nothing but the plot.**

* * *

Wow. Just _wow_. I had to be really keen on prolonging the 'Luke Castellan's stupid decisions'-list, otherwise I wouldn't have run away when he mentioned that he was in love. Of course, that stung. I have to confess that I had plenty of ulterior motives when I asked Percy who it was who had caught his eye. I _really_ wanted to find this person and beat the hell out of them. That had always been my approach: Violence. It was what made me the loser I was. It had made it easy for Kronos to set me against the gods. Vengeance was what had driven me back then; now it was jealousy. I didn't even waste one thought to the fact that I might hurt Percy if I'd hurt whoever-he-was-in-love-with. When he hadn't told me who it was, I had flipped out. My best friend didn't even trust me enough to tell me whom he was crushing on.

I had cried myself to sleep that night; and the following nights. Obviously, I wasn't meant to be happy. Who else would manage to scare their love away? Those things only happened in books. And since this wasn't a fairy tale, Percy wouldn't—

'Luke? Are you in there?'

—come back. The few people I kept company with should be wiser than interrupt me when I obviously didn't want to be interrupted. Nonetheless, I poked my head out of my tent to murder whoever dared to interrupt me. My ears were still teary, so it took me a few moments to recognize—Percy? And was that a cake he was carrying? Suddenly, I became very aware of the fact that the tears I had spilled during the past week had left quite visible traces on my face.

'Luke… I'm sorry. I trust you. I didn't mean to offend you. And… I'm here to make up for it. Maybe – maybe we can retry the whole party-thing?'

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Had _Percy_ just apologised to _me_ , although _I_ had flipped out and run away? And did I get this right, he had made a cake to make up to me with giving the party a second try? Still overwhelmed and not trusting my mouth not to fail me, I nodded and let him in.

'Luke, please say something' Percy all but begged. I swallowed hard. Right. I had to do this.

'I'm sorry, Percy. I've overreacted. I shouldn't have get so agitated or run away from you.' Almost against my will, I smiled. 'It's really sweet that you baked a cake, do you know that?' The thought of Percy in an apron, baking a cake, in a comfy kitchen – _cute_ didn't even _begin_ to describe that image.

'So… you're not mad at me?' Percy frowned, apparently trying to process my apology. Was it really that hard to believe that he hadn't done anything wrong?

'I could never be mad with you, Percy.' Oh shit, had these words really just left my lips? That sounded _way_ to cheesy. But judging by the hopeful grin on Percy's lips, my words didn't fail to have the desired effect: To cheer him up. He gestured towards the cake. 'Uhm… if you're not mad at me and I'm not mad at you… we could cut the cake?' From somewhere, he produced a knife and a cake lifter and got ready to hand them to me. Unable to hide the wide grin that was plastered over my face, I begun to cut pieces of the cake.

While we ate the cake (not all of it of course), we talked about irrelevances, unimportant things. It wasn't exactly 'the weather is nice today', but close enough. I carefully avoided any topic that might make one of us uncomfortable, and I think so did he. Which meant: Don't talk about anything from your life. As in, alive-life. Not as in afterlife.

We gradually scooted closer to each other, and maybe an hour later we sat so close that our thighs and chests touched, arms draped around each other's shoulder. We had stopped eating long ago, and although none of us would have admitted this, we were basically cuddling. On the outside, rain was falling, increasing the comfy feeling inside the tent. Before too long, thunder growled. An outright thunderstorm discharged above our heads.

"I, uh, probably should go home" Percy muttered. But I held him back when he got ready to leave.

"I can't let you run through that storm, Perce. You can sleep over here." I gestured towards the camp bed that served as my sleeping place. "It's okay. I can sleep on the floor." It wouldn't be the first time I slept without a bed, I had done that plenty of times during the war.

It took a lot of arguing, but in the end, I convinced Percy to take my bed and sleep. I had made up a makeshift bed on the floor for me, built out of blankets and pillows. It wasn't exactly _comfortable_ , but it would have to do for this night. I had never had high standards on where I slept. You don't live the better part of your childhood on the streets if you're fastidiously. Back when I had lived with Thalia and Annabeth, we were been happy when we had a place to sleep at all, no matter whether it was under a bridge or in a cave.

This night, I lay awake until long until midnight. I tried to convince myself that it was due to the unfamiliar bed, but it was most likely due to the close proximity to Percy. You can't feel attracted to a guy for, like, two and a half year, miss him like crazy for seven years, drool over his appearance for one year, and then lay one metre beside him without being affected in any way. I was painfully aware of more than ten years worth of pining.

" _Luke?"_ Percy's voice, a mere whisper rather, jolted me out of my thoughts. _"What is it?"_ I responded in the same, hushed voice, even though there were no other people we could accidentally wake.

" _I—can't sleep"_ Percy answered, his voice insecure at this confession. _"Can – can I sleep in your bed?"_ Obviously, the insecurity in his voice was there for a reason. Usually, you would assume that only little children ask someone – their parents – if they can sleep in their beds when they can't sleep. I decided not to point this out, however, as well as the fact that, _technically_ , Percy _was_ sleeping in my bed while I lay on the floor.

" _Sure."_ I opened the blanket so he could crawl under it, which he immediately did. _"And you don't have to be embarrassed, Percy. I mean, we've been hugging all year and stuff, it's not like I will bite your head off or something."_ Of course, the sudden proximity and warmth was both pleasant and embarrassing – at least for me, what with being in love with him and all – but who was I to deny him anything?

" _Thanks."_ Percy's voice was tiny. _"G-Good night, Luke."_ I smiled fondly into the dark. _"Good night, Percy."_

When I woke up, my back hurt like shit from sleeping on the floor. Ouch. Seven years of sleeping in a bed – even if it was a camp bed – had softened me. Lazily, I opened an eye, only to let it fall shut again. Too dark to wake up. I allowed myself to go back to sleep, however not without feeling for Percy to make sure he was still there and hadn't left in the morning or something. As soon as I felt the gentle rise and fall of his chest, I turned around to fall—

'Luke!'

—asleep again. A blonde – Silena, maybe? – head poked inside the tent, and disappeared with a quiet squeal.

'Are you guys… decent?'

Silena, no doubt.

'Yes, we are. And now piss off, Beauregard, I want to sleep.' Groaning, I let my head fall back onto the makeshift-mattress again, this time finally falling asleep again.

The next time I woke up – several hours later, judging by the way too bright sunlight – Percy was carefully removing his arm from under me. I hastily closed me eyes, but he had already seen that I was awake and his face flushed.

'Uh, sorry. I didn't intend to wake you' he mumbled. I sat up, allowing him to remove his arm. 'No problem. Should have waken up anyway.'

Percy averted his gaze. 'Er, I didn't mean to cling to you like that, it's just, I woke up and you were in my embrace, and I thought you wouldn't like that, so I tried to get my arm out from under you without waking you…' He kept rambling but I put a finger on his lips, effectively silencing him.

'It's okay, Perce. I didn't mind. We're hugging all day, so why would I mind if you hugged me at night? Besides the obvious fact that it's something you have only limited control over.' I didn't add, 'and I don't mind your touch at all'. That would have sounded creepy.

Much to my dismay, Percy beat me to making breakfast. When I came back from the makeshift camping shower I had set up outside – I was really proud of it, Beckendorf had helped me with it, it drew its water from the creek and was _really_ sophisticated – he had already made coffee and set the table.

'Luke… what do you think about risks?'

'Hmm?' I didn't exactly know how to interpret Percy's question.

'If you had the chance to win something wonderful, at the risk that you may fail and loose everything… how would you decide?' I pondered the subject in my head for a moment, not sure what this was about. 'Depends. How "wonderful" is the lucky outcome?'

'The most wonderful thing you can imagine.'

 _Percy_ , shot through my head – though that was most certainly _not_ what the son of Poseidon had meant – and without a hint of hesitation I answered, 'take the risk. If it's worth it…'

Percy stood up, walking around the table before he stood in front of me. Combined with this risk-conversation, it made my heartbeat quicken.

'I'll do something risky, then.'

And with this, Percy leant down and sealed our lips.

I pushed my chair backwards, almost causing the table to topple over when I pulled the slightly smaller man on my lap. I couldn't believe this was happening.

'Those are bad manners, Perseus. Kissing me without asking me out properly… I don't know if I can tolerate this' I taunted. Instantly, Percy's smile faded. _Oops._ 'So, will you ask me now, or do I have to do all the work?' I added, unable to wipe the stupid grin off my face.

'Will you be my boyfriend, Luke?' The grin grew so broad, I was afraid my jaw might hurt the next day. 'Yes' I smiled at the son of Poseidon on my lap.

'So, am I _now_ allowed to kiss you?'

I adjusted his position on my lap, bending down to seal our lips once more. 'More than allowed' I breathed against Percy's lips. Once we broke apart, gasping for air, I stood up, carrying him bridal-style to the pillow corner that the makeshift bed now resembled. As soon as I had set him down, Percy flipped us over, lying on top of me and straddling me, returning to covering my lips with his.

'I like it when you're so dominant' I whispered between two kisses. He sent me a quizzical look. 'Really?' I nodded. 'I've been a leader all my life. I led Thalia and Annabeth, I led a bunch of unclaimed and Hermes kids at Camp, I led an army to destroy the world. I've never let anyone else take the lead. But… I like it when you're in control. Like now.' Sure, this was a bit fast, five minutes after our first kiss, but relationships shall be built on trust and talking over things. And I wanted him to know this.

Percy smirked. 'Good to know.' He bent down to capture my lips again, since I was practically immobile, with him on top of me, restraining my movements. That was what I liked about this: Knowing I was virtually at his mercy, and knowing he wouldn't take advantage of this. _Trust_.

But instead of pondering the psychological aspects of this stance, I rather focused on making out with Percy. With my _boyfriend_ Percy. And I forgot about anything else when Percy's tongue found its way into my mouth.


	5. V – Percy

**A/N:** It's not perfect… in fact, it's far from perfect. But since this chapter has been lying on my PC for a month now, and I haven't found a way to improve it, I might as well post it. As you may have noticed, I'm currently trying to finish most of my unfinished stories.

So, this is the last chapter of this story! I hope you don't hate it completely.

 **Disclaimer: Rick Riordan is at fault for creating the characters. I'm just pulling the strings of the puppets he gave to us.**

* * *

Could I please die from mortification _now and here?_ Of course, technically, I _am_ dead, but that's beside the point. The point is, I _really_ couldn't sleep, not for hours, and eventually, I had given in and asked Luke whether I could sleep with him. And against all odds, he hadn't reacted badly or something, but instead let me slip under his blanket. Laying next to my crush, sharing the same blanket and substitute-for-a-mattress was the most pleasant torture I had ever endured. If only he and I would lay here as boyfriends! I had half a mind to go back into my bed – read: Luke's bed, but Percy Jackson doesn't back off.

I woke up a few times that night, every time noticing that I had snuggled up to Luke while sleeping, and every time scooting away from him – though reluctant. But what would he think when he woke up with me practically spooning him? I could not let this happen.

Turned out, it happened anyway. When I woke up, midway through the morning, Luke was in my arms. Obviously, I had pulled him into my embrace while I slept. As if to make things worse, he woke up when I tried to carefully remove my arms from around his upper body. I stuttered an apology, and my heart began to flutter when Luke put a finger on my lips. I shut up due to the mere surprise. And it was relieving to hear that he didn't mind me hugging him at night. Admittedly, we'd been quite touchy-feely for a year now, so why was I making such a big fuss about this in the first place?

While Luke was out to shower, I began to set the table, and when he still hadn't come back after fifteen minutes, I was bored out of my mind, because the breakfast was ready since _minutes_. Apparently, ADHD didn't get better in the afterlife. When Luke finally stepped back into the tent, I was pleased to see the look of surprise flash across his face at the sight of the completely set table.

'Luke… what do you think about risks?' I tried to sound inconspicuously. He didn't have to know that I was talking about kissing him. When Luke, completely unaware of what I was talking about, asked how good things could be if one succeeded in taking the risk I was talking about, I couldn't help but say exactly what I thought. And being with Luke would indeed be the most wonderful thing I could imagine. Apparently, Luke and I were on the same page, because he answered, if it was worth it, I should take the risk.

'I'll do something risky, then.'

As soon as these words had left my lips, I bent down and connected said lips with Luke's, hoping for the best.

And, boy, it was even better than the best, because Luke pulled me onto his lap, and after he had made a little fun of me for not asking him out before I kissed him – I had half a heart attack before I realised he was joking – I finally asked him _the_ question.

And good gods, there was no happier man alive – or rather, dead – than me when Luke said yes. And the feeling grew even more when I lay on top of him, kissing him fiercely on what used to be his bed for the past night. When I had to breathe between two kisses, Luke looked at me seriously, and for a moment I feared I had done something wrong, but my worries vanished into thin air when Luke – still the serious look on his face, as if he wasn't sure whether this was the time and place for this – said how he liked it if I was on top, like right now. The way he said it, it sounded more like a confession, as if it was some strange kink, but I found nothing wrong with it. And I was glad he told me. If people can't talk about everything, their relationships are doomed from the beginning. Like me an Annabeth. I had never talked about my feelings completely open with her. But Luke was – aside from being my boyfriend now – like the older brother I had never had (Triton doesn't count!), and I trusted him to talk with me about _everything_ and listen to me when I needed to talk about something.

Somewhere in the back of my head, I wondered about the fact that I still thought about Luke as older, even though we were now – physically – at the same age. The hell with it. The moment Luke's lips parted in order to grant my tongue access to his mouth, all those trivial thoughts faded away, making space to think about Luke. _Luke, Luke, Luke, Luke._

Later that day, when we were both wrapped into a blanket, snuggled up to each other and cuddling, I asked the question that was bothering me. Luke had told me what he thought, and so did I.

'Luke, have you ever thought of – moving in? As in, together? You and I?' I knew, this was fast – maybe too fast – but _I_ had thought about this a lot.

'I have never _thought_ about it. But I have certainly _dreamed_ about it, love,' Luke answered.

 _Cut_

'But I like this one better! Please? Pretty pretty please?' Percy's baby seal pout was impossible to resist, and Luke sighed. 'Fine. We'll take this one.' He bent down and kissed his boyfriend on the cheek. 'Everything for you, Perce.'

And when the big, light blue double bed was assembled in their bedroom, he had to admit, Percy had made the right choice. It looked _right_. He could not only totally picture him and Percy on it, but he'd also get to sleep there with Percy – this night. Percy had had his way in choosing most the furniture, but Luke was okay with that. Most of it looked great – though he'd never stop teasing Percy about his fondness of this particular light blue. It was just too adorable to see the son of Poseidon pout whenever Luke brought up the topic.

Much to their dismay, there was no such thing as marriage in the Underworld – plenty of dead people, but not enough priests in Elysium, and you could hardly vow to _'be together til death do us part'_ if you were already dead. In the end, they had settled for a compromise: Beckendorf, as a replace for a father, had put Percy's hand in Luke's, and Silena had – symbolically – declared them a couple. Percy had decided that his last name was Castellan from now on, and they were as married as could be, in their eyes at least.

And for more they really couldn't ask.


End file.
